Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis and any of the characters. All of the characters belong to Takeshi Konomi Sensei except for the OC.
Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Sanada X Yukimura, Yanagi X Inui, Kawamura X Sakuno, Oishi X Eiji
A/N: This chapter will be in two parts. If I don't do that, all of you will be dead in front of them computer because of the extremely long chapter to compensate for my lateness and also my inability to update for about one month next month. The voting is still on until I posted the second part of the story. This is the result so far. Whomever that haven't voted yet, please vote.
Question 1:
Atobe = 7
Fuji = 4
Question 2:
Nurse = 2
Children Care = 9
Review Reply:
Gwynhafra…Yup. Very fun to write XD
Nothing…Not really. XD
sadistictensaiFuji….I've replaced the mistakes that I could spot. As for this chapter, I can't guarantee that there won't be any mistakes.
Speadee…I love your long review! Thanks a lot.
Sapphirablossom…I realised that. Actually I changed the plot slightly. If not, all those injuries will have some connection and I think if I followed the old plot, all of you will start hating me already. (grins)
To those that I didn't mention, thank you a lot as your reviews really motivates me to write and this is the result of it.
To the story then…
Chapter 8.1
"Ne, Kunimitsu…"
"Hmm…"
"Should we tell Shinju's parents about the accident?" Ryoma asked as he looked behind to where Shun was seated.
"Aa. Even though they have disowned her, I guess we should tell them about it. After all, they are her parents".
"I guess so. I'll open the gate", Ryoma said as he got out of the car to opened the gate. 'It's not locked? I thought I locked it. It's most probably kaa-san'. Ryoma thought as he pushed the gate open and Tezuka drove in to park the car in the porch. Ryoma closed the gate and walked towards the car.
He opened the back seat door and Shun leaped on him happily calling him, "Ryo-otou-san!" Ryoma stumbled a few steps backwards and managed to stable himself. He carried the boy properly before joining Tezuka at the front door.
Before Tezuka managed to open the door, the door opened by itself and there was Rinko standing in front of them. "Okaeri".
"Tadaima Okaa-san".
"Kaa-san? What are you doing here?" Ryoma asked.
"I came to see you and found you missing. You gave us a scare, Ryoma".
"Che! I just took a walk to the hospital".
"What! You walked all the way to the hospital".
"Aa", Ryoma replied as he took off his shoes and then put Shun on the floor so that he could take off his own shoes. "What's wrong with that?"
Rinko then walked towards Ryoma and pulled his ear lightly. "Ow! Kaa-san, let go". Tezuka squatted down and helped Shun to take off his shoes.
"Do you know how dangerous it was for you to walk to the hospital, alone?! You're pregnant!" Rinko said as she let got Ryoma's ear.
"It's just a walk to the hospital. I do that all the time", Ryoma answered her but Rinko just ignored him as Shun attracted her attention. She picked Shun up who was sitting on the floor looking at both of them with his big black eyes.
"What's your name?" Rinko asked as she walked to the living room, carrying Shun. Before turning into the living room, she gave Tezuka a glance.
"Shun. Name Shun", said Shun as both of them disappeared into the living room.
"What's wrong with walking to the hospital alone? I'm just pregnant. Not sick", Ryoma asked Tezuka innocently.
"Ryoma, you are eleven weeks pregnant and the risk of having a miscarriage is still there. Besides that, when a person is pregnant, too much exercise will not do any good to the baby", Tezuka explained.
"But…"
"They are worried. I'm worried".
"Gomen…" Ryoma apologised guiltily.
"It's okay. Just make sure that you don't walk to the hospital alone again. Let's go in".
"Aa", Ryoma said as he walked towards the living room. When they entered the room, they saw Ayana sitting beside Rinko with Kuniharu by her side. As for Nanjiroh, he was sitting beside Rinko. Rinko and Ayana were playing with Shun while the men were merely looking at their wives playing with Shun.
"Okaa-sama, Otou-sama and Otou-san", acknowledged Tezuka as he entered the living room.
"Okaa-san, Otou-san", Ryoma said as he ignored his baka Oyaji.
The four occupants looked up. "Ryoma-kun, you gave us a scare. Are you alright?"
"Aa. Sorry for worrying you, Okaa-san, Otou-san and kaa-san", apologised Ryoma as he bowed slightly showing that he was really sorry.
"Daijjoubu, Ryoma-kun. Next time, if you are going out, please leave us a note. Rinko almost called the police when she found out that you went missing".
"She thought it was the work of the paparazzi", Kuniharu added as he chuckled lightly.
"Usu", said Ryoma.
"Oi, Seishounen, I didn't know that males gave birth so fast. You are only eleven weeks pregnant and here is your child whose age is 3 years old", teased Nanjiroh. "What are you? An alien?"
Ryoma opened his mouth to retort but was stopped by his mother's voice. "Nanjiroh! Watch your mouth", Rinko said as she kicked him on the shin causing him to yelp out in pain. Ryoma threw a smirk towards his father's direction.
"But Rinko~ its true isn't? He just went to the hospital for a few hours and here is a child that looks like him".
"Nanjiroh…" Rinko said dangerously. Then her expression changed into one with an evil smile before adding, "Have you forgotten what I had said?"
"N-No…I'll stop…" Nanjiroh said, scared of his wife's face. Unbeknownst to Nanjiroh and Rinko, Shun took a lock of Nanjiroh's hair and pull his hair as hard as he could. "OWW!!!!"
"No bully Ryo-otou-san", Shun said cutely with his innocent eyes staring at Nanjiroh.
"You chibi!" Nanjiroh said as he grabbed hold of Shun's hand. Then he stared at the boy with his samurai eyes. Shun was not afraid of the gaze but he still cried out loud so that he could scare Nanjiroh instead of the other way.
The rest of the occupants chuckled since they realised that Shun was faking his cry. "He is really good", said Ayana with an amused smile.
"Aa. That is definitely true", agreed Kuniharu.
"Serve you right, Oyaji", Ryoma said. Shun quieted down after a while making Nanjiroh look very relieved.
"Whose child is this, Kunimitsu?" Kuniharu asked with a serious tone.
"Shunsuke-sempai and Shinju's", Tezuka said.
"Huh? Takara-san's?" Kuniharu asked.
"Aa. She married 4 years ago".
"Then…the plan?" said Ayana.
"She was forced by her parents and grandfather. Then, she told her parents about her marriage and that's what made grandfather postpone the plan", Ryoma explained.
"I see. But, why was her child with both of you?" Rinko asked. Tezuka and Ryoma's expressions turned grim.
"I'll bring Shun up. It's not good for him to hear about it", Ryoma said.
"Aa", Tezuka said as Ryoma stood up and went towards Shun's direction.
"Let's go Shun. You need to bathe", Ryoma said softly.
"Hai, Ryo-otou-san!" Shun said as he bounced from Rinko towards Ryoma causing him to stumble again. He almost fell if not for Tezuka's fast reaction in getting up and supporting him.
"No jumping, Shun", Tezuka said sternly.
Shun nodded before saying, "Me understand, Otou-san". The other four people in the room smiled at the lively boy.
"Good", Tezuka said as he patted his head. Ryoma gave Tezuka a very small smile before carrying Shun upstairs towards their bedroom. After they were out of sight, Tezuka sat down on Ryoma's previous place.
"She passed away". Tezuka's parents and in-laws' eyes were wide open at that statement.
"How? When?" Ayana asked.
"She and Shunsuke-sempai met an accident this morning and I was in charged of them. I failed to save them", said Tezuka as he buried his face in his hand. Ayana stood up and walked towards Tezuka. She wrapped her arms around her son to comfort him.
Tezuka welcomed the arms around his neck since it was really comforting. "It's okay Kunimitsu. It's not your fault", Ayana whispered to her son soothingly.
After a while, Ayana pulled her hand away around Tezuka's neck. Tezuka looked up and gave his mother a smile.
"But how come Shun is with both of you? Shouldn't he be staying with his grandparents?" Nanjiroh asked with a serious expression.
"During New Year, Shinju and Shunsuke-sempai visited us. They makes us Shun's godparents and legal guardians".
"Souka…" Rinko said.
"Then, how is that little brat taking it? He seems okay to me", Nanjiroh asked.
Tezuka shook his head before saying, "He may look that way but according to Ryoma, he seems to be in shock. Whenever Ryoma asks him about the accident, he starts crying and when he is asleep, he will start calling out for his parents".
Each on of them had a sad expression on their face when they heard that. The boy was just 3 years old and he had already lost both of his parents to the accident. Fate could be really cruel sometimes.
After a long silence, Ayana asked, "Kunimitsu, have you planned when you will hold the wake?"
"We haven't discussed about it yet. Ryoma and I planned to talk about it tonight after Shun has fallen asleep".
"If that's the case, then we will take care of it", offered Kuniharu. "You should concentrate on Ryoma-kun and Shun".
"But-"
"No 'buts', Kunimitsu-kun. Don't forget that Ryoma is pregnant and this is a crucial time. He won't be able to handle his pregnancy and Shun together. If not careful, it will cause him to…" Rinko trailed off when she saw Tezuka's paled face when he realised about it.
"I understand, Okaa-san. Then I will let Okaa-sama and Otou-sama to handle the funeral".
Their attention fell on the stairs when they heard someone's lively chatter. On the stairs were Shun walking down with Ryoma guarding behind him. Apparently, Shun was wearing one of Ryoma's clothes and pants which were way too big for him.
Tezuka stood up and walked towards them. Seeing his Otou-san, Shun leaped down with his arms wide opened and a big smile on his face.
Tezuka smiled at him before catching him with his strong arms. Shun giggled when he saw Tezuka's smile. This in turned causing the other occupants to chuckle since his giggling and happy face of Shun was rather contagious.
Ryoma walked down the stairs and stood beside Tezuka. Tezuka looked at Ryoma with the what's-with-the-clothes expression.
"Those were the smallest I could find. Yours were definitely too big for him", Ryoma said matter-of-factly.
Tezuka turned his attention to Shun before ruffling Shun's hair. As for Ryoma, he started to tickle Shun causing him to laugh. "St-stop….R-Ryo-otou-s-san", Shun said between his laughs. After a while, Ryoma stopped his tickling.
"Ryo-otou-san, carry me", Shun said as he opened his arms wide. Ryoma was planning to grab hold his arms but before he could, Shun kicked Tezuka on the stomach and jump towards Ryoma. Tezuka keeled over while clutching his stomach in pain. Shun's kick was definitely powerful for a 3 year old.
Ryoma's legs buckled when Shun landed on his arms, as he was not ready for the sudden impact. He immediately landed on the floor hard with Shun in his arms. His face was contorted with pain.
"Ryoma!" Tezuka called out.
Rinko and Ayana stood up and rushed quickly to Ryoma's side. "Are you alright? Do you feel any pain especially in your stomach?" Ayana asked. Ryoma shook his head. His face was still contorted with pain.
"Yokata…" Rinko and Ayana said simultaneously. Ayana then took Shun whom was still smiling away innocently. Tezuka sighed in relieved when he heard that. Tezuka stood up and helped Ryoma to stand up. When he stood up, he winced slightly. Tezuka looked at him worriedly.
Seeing his husband's worried face, he said, "I'm fine. Just that my back hurts. That's all".
After they had settled down, they saw that Ayana was reprimanding Shun for his action. After a while, Ayana put Shun down on the floor and the poor boy walked towards Ryoma's direction with a really guilty and sad face.
When he reached Ryoma, he said, "Shun sorry, Ryo-otou-san".
"Apology accepted", Ryoma said as he picked the emerald haired boy up and placed him on his lap. When Shun was sitting on Ryoma's lap, his hand wandered to Ryoma stomach before saying, "I'm sorry".
Everyone was puzzled by Shun's action except for Ayana who was smiling away much. Tezuka looked at his mother and then only he realised that Ayana must have told Shun about Ryoma having baby inside him. His mother was really good at making kids understand stuff that they didn't usually do.
He looked down at his spouse's reaction and knew that he was surprised too. "Okaa-sama told him", Tezuka whispered to Ryoma.
"Souka", Ryoma said.
"You told him?" Kuniharu asked Ayana.
"Aa", Ayana said.
"How did you do that, Ayana?" Rinko asked.
"I just told him that Ryoma-kun is pregnant", Ayana said while looking at the little boy.
"But, he is just 3 years old", Rinko said.
He is a bright child", Ayana said.
"True also", Rinko agreed as she looked at Shun who was rubbing Ryoma's stomach.
"Kunimitsu…" Ayana said suddenly with a sudden serious face.
"What is it, Okaa-sama?"
"Otou-sama is back". Everyone's expression turned grim once more. The mention of Kunikazu had always made the cheerful and happy atmosphere grim.
"And he told us to tell you that the meeting of the Echizens will be held the day after tomorrow", Kuniharu added.
"What?!" Ryoma shouted. Everybody cringed at his loud exclamation and Shun had to crawl away from his Ryo-otou-san to avoid himself from becoming deaf. He then settled down on Tezuka's lap.
"Ryoma calm down", Tezuka said as he placed his hand on Ryoma's shoulder. After a while, he calmed down and apologised to his parents and in-laws for his very loud exclamation.
"We told Otou-sama that Ryoma-kun's pregnant but he didn't believe it since males can't get pregnant. We tried to explain to him that Ryoma-kun is not 100% male, he refused to listen to us and even called him a…" Ayana trailed off. She really didn't dare to mention the word that his father-in-law had used to describe Ryoma.
"Call me what, Okaa-san?" Ryoma asked. Inwardly, he already knew what that word would be.
"…freak". This time it was Tezuka's turned to explode and poor Shun had to move to his Ryo-otou-san's lap since his Otou-san was too loud.
"Souka. Oh well, I'm used to it", said Ryoma as he brushed away the matter nonchalantly.
"Ryoma…" Tezuka said.
"I'm really okay. Since I was small, I was constantly being called that. However, those who called me that had to answer to kaa-san and Oyaji", Ryoma said softly.
"Why?" Tezuka asked. Ryoma then pointed his hand towards his parents. Tezuka looked at where Ryoma was pointing and what he saw almost scared him to death.
The expression on both of them was really scary. Nanjiroh was leaking out a murderous aura which was almost the same as a samurai leaking out his ki when they planned to kill.
Meanwhile, Rinko was gripping her hands until they were white. Her expression was much scarier than Nanjiroh's. Right now, Tezuka knew why Nanjiroh had been so afraid of his wife.
Ryoma saw that Tezuka's parents shifted themselves as far as possible from the Echizen couple and Shun's scrunched up face. "Kaa-san, Oyaji, stop it. You're scaring them", Ryoma said as he pointed with his thumb towards Tezuka's parents then at Shun. After that, both of them calmed down and Rinko apologised to them as Ryoma tried to calm Shun down.
"What does he want now?" Nanjiroh hissed.
"We are not sure. He came back yesterday and just told us to inform all of you that the meeting will be held the day after tomorrow", Kuniharu said.
"However, we felt that Otou-sama seems to have changed a lot".
"Good or bad?" Rinko asked.
"Bad. He seems to be up to something and it's giving me a very bad feeling", added Ayana.
"Aa. We have to be careful and I have a feeling that it got to do with Ryoma-kun", "Kuniharu continued.
"I won't forgive Ojii-sama if he ever do anything to Ryoma", Tezuka said, trying to suppress his anger.
"Don't worry, Kunimitsu. I won't let him do anything to me", Ryoma said.
The room fell into silence until Rinko spoke up, "Looks like we just have to act according to situation and hopefully we can stop whatever plan he has formed in his head".
"Aa", agreed Kuniharu and Tezuka together.
The room fell into silence again until the clock started to chime. "We should take our leave. It's late", Ayana said.
"Aa", agreed Kuniharu.
"I will send all of you out", Tezuka said.
The four of them stood up as Shun climbed down from Ryoma's lap. Ryoma tried to stand up but found out that his legs had long ago gone to sleep.
"Daijoubu, Ryoma-kun. It's enough for Kunimitsu to send us out", said Kuniharu. Ryoma nodded and waved goodbye. Meanwhile, Shun followed Tezuka to the front door.
"He needs plenty of rest, Kunimitsu. He looks tired", Ayana whispered to Tezuka when they were at the front door.
"I understand, Okaa-sama".
"There's one more thing. I will be here to take care of Ryoma and Shun when you are working. So you can do your job properly", Rinko said as she gave him a small smile which was quite similar to Ryoma's.
"You can't, Rinko~ you forgot about our vacation", Nanjiroh said selfishly.
"Nanjiroh you-" Rinko said but was cut off by Tezuka.
"Its okay, Okaa-san. I will think of something so that Ryoma will not stay at home alone", Tezuka said.
"Are you sure, Kunimitsu-kun?"
"Aa. Don't worry, Okaa-san".
"Okay. We should leave then", said Rinko. She then squatted down and gave Shun a little peck on cheek. The boy giggled before he returned the Rinko's kiss by kissing her on the cheek.
Tezuka then carried the little boy up and Shun leaned towards Ayana's direction. Seeing his action, Tezuka brought Shun nearer to his mother and to everyone's surprise; the little boy gave Ayana a kiss on the lips and then blushed. Nanjiroh whistled in the back as Rinko and Kuniharu chuckled. Ayana ruffled Shun's hair before giving him a peck on the cheek too.
"Tata, Obaa-sans and Ojii-sans", Shun said cheerily.
Ja ne", Tezuka said. The four of them walked out of the house into the already dark night. The night came out early since it was still winter. Tezuka walked into the living room and saw Ryoma flexing his foot by walking around.
"You should go and take a bath. I'll prepare dinner", Ryoma said as he walked up to Tezuka as Tezuka placed Shun down on the floor.
"I'll help you", Tezuka said as he remembered what his mother had told him.
"No", said Ryoma as he walked towards the kitchen with Shun tailing behind him. Tezuka had no choice but to go and take a bath.
After he had finished his bath, he walked down and found his stomach growling in hunger. The delicious smell of food had triggered his hunger which had been temporarily forgotten when he found his parents and in-laws. He walked towards the kitchen and saw Shun sitting quietly and waiting patiently for Ryoma to finish cooking.
"You're done. Dinner's almost ready", Ryoma said as he turned off the fire.
"I'll do the rest", Tezuka said as he took the pan that Ryoma was holding and transferred it to a plate. Ryoma sat down at his usual place which was opposite of Tezuka. Tezuka placed the food on the table and sat beside Shun.
After they had finished eating, Tezuka cleared the table and he ordered Ryoma to rest since he stubbornly refused to.
After he had finished cleaning and locking up the door, he walked up the stairs and headed towards the bedroom. On the way, he switched off the lights in the dining room and living room. When he opened the door, he found Shun, asleep on the floor with Ryoma's lap as his pillow.
"Looks like he's the one who's tired", Tezuka said softly so that he wouldn't wake Shun up. He walked towards Ryoma and sat beside him while caressing the child's emerald green hair.
"Aa. He was playing with the tennis ball while lying down. Before I knew it, he was already asleep", Ryoma explained.
"Souka", Tezuka said as he took away the tennis ball from Shun's hand. "I'll put him on the futon". Ryoma nodded as Tezuka carried Shun. He then stood up and walked towards the bedside where he had laid the futon after he came out from his bath.
After he had tucked the boy in, he walked back towards Ryoma. He offered his hand to pull Ryoma up. Ryoma accepted it. As he pulled him up, he felt Ryoma winced slightly.
"You okay?" Tezuka asked worriedly.
"Oww…Aa. It's just leg cramp", Ryoma said as he stood up and before he knew it, he was falling back to the floor. Tezuka reacted quickly to catch Ryoma.
Tezuka wrapped his left arm around Ryoma's waist and his right hand was holding on to Ryoma's right hand. Both of them walked towards the bed and in each step that Ryoma took, Tezuka could feel that he was really in pain. In the end, Tezuka let go Ryoma's right hand and carried him up in bridal style.
This caused Ryoma to blush furiously red. "Let me down, Kunimitsu".
"No", replied Tezuka as he ignored Ryoma's request. He placed Ryoma gently on the bed before covering him with the comforter. He walked towards his side of the bed and climbed into the bed. He sat beside Ryoma as his left arm snaked around Ryoma's waist.
Inwardly, he was contemplating whether to put his left hand on Ryoma's stomach or just to settle it on the bed. Seeing Tezuka expression, Ryoma knew what Tezuka was thinking in an instant. He got hold of Tezuka's left hand and place in on top of his stomach. Ryoma snuggled closer towards Tezuka and he rested his head on Tezuka's shoulder. Tezuka looked at Ryoma with an unreadable expression and Ryoma just smiled at him.
"You wanted it right?" Ryoma asked.
"…"
"Yes?"
"…"
"No?" Ryoma said while smiling at his husband. Tezuka subconsciously rubbed Ryoma's stomach making Ryoma's smile go wider. Inwardly, Tezuka knew that he had lost to Ryoma.
"Ne Ryoma…"
"Hmm…"
"I can feel it", Tezuka said.
Ryoma chuckled lightly at his stoic husband's expression. "I suppose so".
"But it seems to be smaller than what I had seen from the internet", Tezuka said matter-of-factly.
"Yukimura said that it might be caused by the muscle that I built up when I was playing tennis".
"Souka". There was a short silence before Tezuka spoke up again. "Ryoma, should we take Shun back to his house? I mean to take some of his clothes".
"No!" exclaimed Ryoma.
"Why?"
"I'm afraid that it will make remember again about…"
"But he seems okay to me", Tezuka said.
Ryoma shook his head before explaining, "He was calling out to Shunsuke-sempai and Shinju just now. I managed to coax him to sleep back".
"Souka. Then we will have to buy clothes for him then".
"Aa. That's the only way", agreed Ryoma as he yawned. "Oh yea, I plan to buy Shunsuke-sempai and Shinju's house".
"Why?"
"For Shun. He is still small and as time goes on, I have a feeling that he might lose his memories of them. I think the best way for him to remember about his parents is that house. That's why I plan to buy it".
"Souka. You should sleep", said Tezuka as he saw Ryoma yawn again.
"Aa. Oyasumi", Ryoma said as he lay down and was instantly asleep with a slight snore because of the stuffy nose which was normal during pregnancy.
'He's really tired. Just refuses to admit it', Tezuka thought as he chuckled inwardly. He made sure that Shun was covered properly before lying down on the bed after taking off his spectacles. He wrapped his left hand around Ryoma's midsection and brought him closer to his body.
Ryoma turned around and buried his face in Tezuka's chest and snuggled closely towards the body heat radiated by Tezuka. Tezuka then kissed Ryoma on the forehead before saying, "Oyasumi".
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tezuka's eyes fluttered opened when he feel someone kicking the mattress. He looked down and saw that Shun was wide-awake and looking very pleased at waking up his Otou-san. Tezuka shushed him when he saw Shun opening his mouth to talk.
Tezuka removed his hand from Ryoma's midsection before sitting up. "Don't disturb Ryo-otou-san", whispered Tezuka to Shun's ear.
Tezuka took his spectacles fro the bedside and wore it. He saw the boy nod before putting his finger on his mouth. Tezuka got out from the bed slowly and carried Shun up. He then walked towards the door and walked out of the room.
"Let's prepare breakfast", suggested Tezuka after they were out of the room. Shun nodded vigorously at the suggestion, his finger was still on his lips.
When they were already in the kitchen, Tezuka placed Shun on the dining chair before starting to prepare some pancakes. He took out the cutlery and passed it to Shun who was sitting on the chair. He took it happily and started to arrange it while standing on the chair.
When Tezuka had finished putting down the food on the table, he heard Ryoma rushing to the toilet. Tezuka grabbed Shun and went to the bedroom. He placed Shun outside of the bathroom before walking in and crouching beside Ryoma.
Tezuka rubbed Ryoma's back with his left hand and his right hand holding up his bangs which were wet because of the sweat. After a while, Ryoma looked up and smiled at Tezuka tiredly. He leaned on Tezuka and closed his eyes to hear Tezuka's heart beat. It had always calmed him down.
Tezuka realised that Ryoma's nausea was still bad even though he was at the end of his first trimester. Besides that, he also realised that Ryoma had lost some weight and he looked thinner.
Shun walked towards Ryoma when he realised that Ryoma had stopped his vomiting. "Ryo-otou-san okay?" asked Shun once he was beside Ryoma. He had a sad expression on his face when he saw Ryo-otou-san's sick and pale face.
"Don't worry Shun. Ryo-otou-san will be okay. So smile for Ryo-otou-san", Tezuka said as he tried to console Shun. Shun gave Ryoma one of his toothy smiles.
"I give Ryo-otou-san hug. Ryo-otou-san better", Shun said as he hugged Ryoma around his waist. Ryoma ruffled Shun hair and whispered to him a 'thank you'.
After a while, Tezuka said, "You okay?"
"Aa. We should get up. I think I heard Shun's stomach growl", Ryoma said as he gave Tezuka a smile. Nowadays, he recovered his strength faster since he had already gotten used to it. "Shun, get up. Ryo-otou-san is hungry".
Shun looked up and gave Ryoma a big smile. He stood up and gave Ryoma a peck on the cheek. Ryoma pushed himself up using the side of the toilet bowl and Tezuka's hand as leverage. He walked towards the sink and rinsed his mouth. Tezuka stood up and handed Ryoma a face towel. After that, the three of them went down to have breakfast.
When they were done, Ryoma carried Shun to the bedroom to change with Tezuka following him behind. Ryoma took out Shun's clothes from the dryer before passing it to Tezuka. Tezuka took it from Ryoma and started to help Shun to change his clothes.
Ryoma went in to the toilet to wear his contacts to hide his eyes colour and change into his own clothes. He was wearing a tight fitting black knitted turtleneck long sleeves and a pair of cargo pants. He let down his usual tied up hair down causing him to look like a girl.
'Che! Looks like a girl', Ryoma thought before contemplating whether to tied up or let down his hair. In the end, he let down his hair which touched his shoulder slightly.
When he was done, he walked out of the bathroom. He then realised that Tezuka was staring at him. Ryoma followed Tezuka's gaze and realised that he was staring at the small bump on Ryoma's stomach. He walked back to the bathroom to change his top but was stopped by Tezuka grabbing his hand.
"Don't", Tezuka said.
"Then stop staring", Ryoma said.
"Aa. I will. Here". Tezuka handed Ryoma his long overcoat and his black Fila cap. Ryoma took the hat and jammed it on his head. Then he took the long overcoat and wore it. He made sure that he buttoned them up and he could see the slight disappointment in Tezuka's eyes.
Ryoma then turned his attention to the little boy that was sitting on the bed swinging his legs. Shun was wearing a blue beanie that belonged to him and also the winter jacket that he wore yesterday. Inside, he was wearing a blue hoodie.
Ryoma walked towards him and picked him up. The three of them head downstairs and Ryoma walked out of the house so that Tezuka could lock it. The three of them were walking down the street with Ryoma who was walking in front of Tezuka carrying Shun. Tezuka had offered to carry the boy but apparently Shun wanted his Ryo-otou-san to carry him.
When they reached the junction, Tezuka heard somebody calling his name. He turned behind and saw a certain red head ran pass him. The certain red head wrapped his arms around Ryoma's midsection and started to rub Ryoma's stomach. Seeing the red head's action caused Tezuka to pop his vein.
The hugging caused Ryoma to yelp in surprise. Luckily, he didn't drop Shun in the process. Ryoma squirmed in discomfort because he knew the person hugging him was not his Kunimitsu. Kikumaru immediately let go of Ryoma when he felt someone's glare from behind.
Ryoma quickly walked towards Tezuka's side when he felt Kikumaru let go of him. Tezuka wrapped his right arm around Ryoma's midsection and brought him closer to his own body.
"Iie…data", Inui said from behind causing Shun to yelp in surprise and started crying. As for Ryoma and Tezuka, they had already gotten use to it that it had totally no effect on them. Tezuka glared at Inui for making Shun cry as Ryoma tried to coax him so that he would stop crying. As for Kikumaru, he too tried to cheer Shun up by making faces. Only after a few tries, Shun stopped crying and started laughing.
The others join in laughing when they heard his contagious laughter. Tezuka cracked a smile at the boy's laughing. "Looks like he's all cheered up", Oishi said.
"Saa…It's Eiji after all", Fuji said. "Don't forget, he runs a childcare".
"True", Oishi said with slightly proud tone.
"Looks like someone is proud of his boyfriend", teased Momo.
"Eh-he", Oishi laughed sheepishly. Meanwhile, Eiji bounced towards Oishi and latched his right hand on Oishi's shoulder.
"Nya, Oishi! I can feel Ochibi's bump!" Kikumaru said excitedly.
"Are you sure, Kikumaru-sempai?" Momo asked.
"Fssshhh…"
"Yes! When I hugged him around the midsection and rubbed his stomach, I felt a slight bump there which was hard".
Meanwhile, the Tezuka couple just ignored the group and walked away. "They are walking away", Inui said as Eiji jumped a few centimetres before clutching at Oishi's arm for his dear life.
"Inui! Don't do that. It's not good for the heart", Oishi said as he clutched his own heart. Fuji continued to smile and Kaidoh hissed.
"Should we follow them?" Fuji asked.
"Aa. After all, we came here to meet them", Oishi said as he walked the path that he saw the Tezuka couple take. After a few turns here and there, they found themselves in a shopping mall.
"Shopping?" Eiji said.
"That's obvious, Kikumaru-sempai", Momo said.
"As far as I know, they dislike public place especially shopping malls. So, why are they here?"
"100% that they are here to buy clothes…" Inui said.
"That's logic, Inui-sempai", Kaidoh said.
"…and another 100 percent that it's for Shun-kun", Inui continued.
"Looks like your calculation was correct Inui", Fuji said as he pointed to the Tezuka couple who were heading towards the kids' section.
"Ochibi!" Eiji called out as he ran past the crowd and once again glomped Ryoma, giving his signature bear hug. This time, Ryoma didn't fall since he was sitting down.
"Ki-kikumaru – sem-sempai…c-can't bre-breath", Ryoma choked out.
"Eiji, let go of Echizen-kun", Oishi said out frantically when he saw Ryoma's face turned blue.
Kikumaru let go of Ryoma immediately when he felt someone pulling his hair. He looked behind and saw Shun standing on the chair Ryoma was sitting. This enabled him to pull Kikumaru's hair.
"No bully, Ryo-otou-san", Shun said.
"Oww~ Let go nya, Shun-chan", Kikumaru pleaded. Shun shook his head.
"You bully Ryo-otou-san. Me no letting go".
"Shun-kun, that's not bullying. That's just hugging", said Oishi as he tried to loosen Shun's grip on Kikumaru's hair.
"No. Ryo-otou-san turned blue".
"Ne Ochibi, what did you give to Shun that makes him so protective nya?" Kikumaru asked. Ryoma just throw a smug smirk as his sempai.
"Oh well…I'll just use my best attack then", Kikumaru said with a big grin. He carried Shun in his hand and started to tickle him. That caused Shun to let go of his hair and starts to laugh. Ryoma and Oishi heard some of the passers-by chuckles lightly when they passed by them. This in turn, caused Ryoma to crack a smile and Oishi to join in the fun. Kikumaru then 'kidnapped' Shun to one of the rack for kids' clothes.
"Echizen, where's Tezuka?" Ryoma immediately pointed to one of the sections where they sold kids' pyjamas. "Are you okay by yourself, Echizen?"
"Aa. I'm just resting", said Ryoma.
"But I thought you just walked here?"
"One of the symptoms", Ryoma said simply.
"Souka", Oishi said as he leaned on the pillar.
"You don't have to watch over me, Oishi-sempai. You wanted to talk to Kunimitsu right?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, it shows on your face", Ryoma said matter-of-factly.
"Souka. Then I will be leaving you alone then".
"Aa", Ryoma said. Oishi then walked off to Tezuka's direction.
After Oishi had walked away, Ryoma heard Shun said, "Me down! Me down!" Kikumaru just gave Shun a big toothy grin. Seeing that his 'kidnapper' refused to let him go, Shun started to kick Kikumaru and one of it landed hard on his stomach causing him to keel over.
Kikumaru put him on the floor and the boy ran towards where Ryoma seated. Ryoma was watching the whole time and he couldn't help but think that he was really cute. The boy reached Ryoma and he hugged Ryoma's leg. Ryoma picked him up and placed him on his lap. As for Kikumaru, he was walking towards where Fuji was standing.
"Fujiko-chan!" Kikumaru said as he latched his hand around the tensai's shoulder.
"Eiji…So, how was your encounter with the little ochibi?" Fuji asked.
"Mou…He kicked real hard. There will probably be a big blue black bruise tomorrow, nya", whined Kikumaru.
"Saa…That's what you get for 'kidnapping' him", Fuji said.
"Mou…Fujiko-chan~", whined Kikumaru.
"Maa maa…" said Fuji as he patted Kikumaru's head as if he was a cat. Kikumaru purred, acting as if he really was a cat.
"Ne Fujiko-chan, what are you holding?" Kikumaru asked as his 'ears' perked up.
"Hmm…clothes for Echizen", Fuji said as he showed Kikumaru the clothing he was holding.
"Nya~ Kirie (beautiful)!" Kikumaru exclaimed.
It was a three quarter sleeves and at the hem of the sleeves, there were a few of frills. It was sky blue with some green shades at the hems and it was at knee length. The patterns were on the front of the clothes were sakura petals making it look really elegant and with the combination of the silky material used to make the clothes, it was totally beautiful and stylish.
"Saa…The colour would surely fit Echizen", Fuji said.
"Yup, yup! The blue and green shades will bring out his hair and golden eyes' colour. Let's show it to them nya~", Kikumaru said as he bounced towards the group that was standing at the kids' section which was just located just beside the maternity section. Fuji smiled at the acrobatic player's antics before following him. He was still holding the maternity clothes he had chosen for Ryoma.
"Oishi!" Kikumaru said as he glomped the said person. "What are you talking about?"
Oishi looked at his partner with a slight uncomfortable gaze. "We…"
"They were talking about Shunsuke-sempai and Shinju-chan", Fuji said from Momoshiro's back.
"Fuji-sempai!" exclaimed Momoshiro.
"Fuji, don't do that. It's not good for the heart!" Oishi said.
"Maa, maa…" Fuji said with his usual smile plastered on his face.
"Ne, Oishi, Fujiko-chan found something nice for Ochibi, nya!" Kikumaru said.
"What is it?" Oishi asked as he smiled at the cat boy.
"This!" Kikumaru said as he point to the clothes Fuji was holding. Everyone followed Kikumaru's pointing and saw the maternity clothes.
"Nice one Fuji-sempai!" Momoshiro said.
"Fssshhh…a really good one, Fuji-sempai", Kaidoh said.
"Hmm…98.1 percent that Echizen will definitely looked good in this. 76.5 percent that Echizen will refuse to wear it and 100 percent that Tezuka would like Echizen to wear it", Inui said with a small twitch on his mouth when he saw Tezuka's expression. Everyone looked up at Tezuka the moment Inui said the last sentence.
Meanwhile, the stoic buchou was trying to control the blush from coming up to his face. He imagined Ryoma wearing the maternity clothes and he looked so beautiful and gorgeous in his imagination.
"Look! Look! Tezuka really wants Ochibi to wear this NYA!" Kikumaru said cheerily when he noticed Tezuka's flush since he had the sharpest eyes among all of them.
"Saa…Why don't you buy it for Echizen, Tezuka?" suggested Fuji.
"…"
"Eh, Echizen-kun?" said Kawamura. Everyone turned around to where Ryoma was sitting. They saw a group of guys around the area where Ryoma was sitting.
"Saa…Looks like Echizen was mistaken as a girl again", Fuji said while smiling towards Tezuka.
After Fuji said that, the ex-regulars took a few steps away from Tezuka because the stoic buchou was emitting such a killing aura that it could rival Rinko's. The only one who didn't step away was Fuji whom was still standing beside him, smiling away.
"Fu-Fujiko-ch-chan…" Kikumaru said when he saw the smile on Fuji's face. It really scared him out of his wits.
"Nani?" Fuji asked innocently as he turned around to face Kikumaru.
"Eep! Nan-nandemonai", Kikumaru said as he gripped Oishi's hand a bit harder than he used too. The smile on Fuji's face was really eerie.
"Ne, T-Tezuka, s-stop…" stammered Oishi. Tezuka ignored Oishi and walked towards Ryoma followed by the others with a distance of course.
Meanwhile, Ryoma and Shun were ignoring the group of boys that were hitting on him.
"Ne, nee-chan, are you alone?" said boy no.1. Ryoma ignored him and continued to play with Shun.
"Why don't you join us?" said boy no. 2.
"Yea…Why don't you join us? You can bring your brother along as well", added boy no. 3.
Ryoma keep on ignoring the three guys that were obviously hitting on him. As time pass, Ryoma's ignorance was frustrating them. They grabbed Shun's hand and tried to take him away from Ryoma.
Ryoma hugged Shun possessively while giving the group of guys a death glare. They ignored Ryoma's glare and continued to take away Shun. After some time, Ryoma lost his temper and stood up, hissing, "Let go of him!"
"We will let go of him if you follow us, nee-chan~" boy no. 2 said.
Ryoma looked at him with disgust before standing up carrying Shun with his right hand. He raised his left hand to slap the boy but was stopped by boy no. 1 who was standing beside boy no. 2.
"No, no", mocked boy no. 1. He tugged Ryoma's left hand and tried to kiss him. However, he got sent flying a few feet from where his friends were. Boy no. 2 and boy no. 3 looked at the attacker with wide eyes.
Ryoma looked up at the attacker and realised that it was Tezuka. "Otou-san" Shun said as he opened his hands wide and leaned towards where Tezuka was standing.
Tezuka carried Shun and looked into Ryoma's eyes. "Did they do anything to you?" Ryoma shook his head.
"Saa…Echizen, looks like you got mistaken as a girl again", Fuji said as he stood beside Tezuka with his an amused smile plastered on his face.
'Mistaken as a girl?" boy no. 2 said absent-mindedly.
"89.2 percent that they had no idea Echizen is a male and 67.9 percent that they tried to cheat him so that they could sell him", Inui said from behind those two. The two guys yelped in surprise and scurried away as far as possible from Inui.
"Ho-how did you kn-know?" boy no 3 asked.
"He is a data master after all", said the person behind them. Once again they yelped in surprise and ran towards their other comrade. They stiffened slightly when they saw the dark aura emitted by Tezuka.
"G-GOMEN!" the three of them said simultaneously before running away. Meanwhile, Ryoma had his left hand around Tezuka's right arm to restrain him from killing those three in public. The crowd dispersed after the three guys ran away with their tails in between their leg.
"Renji!" Inui said as he instantly stood beside his partner. "What are you doing here?"
"Hmm…I was walking around with Seiichi and Genichirou when we saw a group of people gathering here. Then I heard your voice and we decided to see what the commotion is about", Yanagi said as he stepped aside to reveal the other two people.
Yukimura Seiichi was holding Sanada Genichirou's left hand with a smile on his face. "Oh…the Seigakurians are all here", Yukimura said.
"I wondered who it was. It's only Yukimura", Fuji said with his sadistic smile.
"Fuji", acknowledged Yukimura with an equally sadistic smile. The rest of the Seigakurians except Tezuka and also Sanada shuddered. As for Shun, he was clinging on Tezuka's long overcoat with slightly shaking hands.
Tezuka could feel that Shun was really scared of those two. "En-"
"Fujiko-chan, Sei-chan, stop it nya~. Both of you are scaring Shu-chan", Kikumaru said bravely.
Inwardly, he was really afraid of both of them since they were comrades during high school. They were famous for playing pranks together to get even with those that dared to call them girly and weak. Besides that, the victims would have nightmares for months and whenever they saw either one of them, they would surely wet their pants in fear.
Everyone shivered slightly when the reminisced about their high school's days. They still remembered the pranks both of them pulled on them when they were having tennis camp in Hokkaido. After the camp, they had learnt their lesson. If you hurt Fuji, Yukimura would surely take action and if Yukimura's hurt, Fuji would take action instead of Sanada. They were like twin brothers.
Yukimura and Fuji walked towards Tezuka together and said, "Gomen ne, Shun-kun". Shun looked up at the two ojii-sans and smiled at them. Before Yukimura managed to break the eye contact, Shun took hold of a lock of his hair and pulled it towards him. Yukimura tried to get away and before he knew it, he was forced to get nearer to Shun and taking the opportunity, Shun gave him a pecked on his cheek.
"Iie data…Genichirou's eyes have widened 3 mm", muttered Yanagi.
"Yukimura lost his smile and was replaced by an 'O'", muttered Inui.
"Tezuka and Echizen seem to have no reaction. Seems like they are used to it", Yanagi said as he wrote them down. "And the rest are in shock".
After he had kissed Yukimura, Shun grabbed Fuji's collar to bring him nearer to his lips so that he could kiss him on the cheek but Fuji stumbled slightly and his lips connected with the boy's lip. Seeing that Shun's first kiss had been stolen by Fuji, Ryoma and Tezuka's eyes went wide in shock. The rest of them gaped at that. Meanwhile, the little boy's cheeks were as red as tomato.
"NYA! Shu-chan's first kiss was stolen by Fujiko!" exclaimed Kikumaru. As for Fuji, he had regained his composure and was now smiling his true smile at Eiji's exclamation.
"We saw that Kikumaru-sempai", Momoshiro said. This caused him to be glomped by the cat boy. Momoshiro managed to pry out of Kikumaru's bear hug since he was bigger in terms of size compared to the cat boy.
"Fssshhh…" Kaidoh hissed with a slight flush cheek.
"Oi Mamushi, you want to be kissed too?" taunted Momoshiro.
"What did you say?! Who wants to be kissed by a 3 year old kid?! Baka!" Kaidoh said, as his flushed cheeks got more noticeable.
"What'd you say Mamushi!" said Momoshiro as he grabbed Kaidoh's front.
"Stop it, you two", ordered Tezuka.
"H-hai Buchou!" Kaidoh and Momoshiro said simultaneously. Momoshiro let go of Kaidoh's collar and both of them distanced themselves. Shun giggled when he saw his other two ojii-sans antics.
"Looks like Tezuka will always be Buchou to us", Oishi said as he gave Buchou a smile.
"True. Old habits die hard", Kawamura said as both of them stood at the side watching the 'shows'.
"Shu-chan kawaii!" exclaimed Eiji as he walked towards the boy in Tezuka's arm. Shun leaned towards the cat boy and from his body language, Tezuka knew that he wanted to be carried by Kikumaru. Tezuka passed Shun to Kikumaru and the cat boy was so happy that he threw the boy up high and caught him with his hands.
The boy giggled and that caused some of them to chuckle and others were laughing including the stiff Emperor. "His laughter is really contagious", Yukimura said as he chuckled. He was standing beside Sanada and had his right arm wrapped around Sanada's left arm. His head was resting on the Emperor's shoulder and his eyes were focused on Kikumaru and Shun.
He was enjoying the moment when he spotted the clothes Fuji was holding. "Syuu-chan, what are you holding?"
Everyone turned around to see Yukimura staring at the clothes Fuji was holding. "This?" Fuji asked as he brought up the attire to show Yukimura.
"Aa. Isn't that a maternity dress", Yukimura said and immediately everyone's eyes were focused on Ryoma.
"What?" Ryoma asked as his eyes snapped opened. Apparently, Tezuka had his left arm wrapped around Ryoma's midsection and his hand was on top of Ryoma's stomach. Ryoma was resting his head on Tezuka's chest with his slightly closed eyes.
"Saa…Echizen, this is for you", Fuji said as he gave Ryoma the attire. Ryoma took it and realised that it was a maternity dress.
To be continued…
A/N: The shopping scene will be continued in Part 2 of this chapter which will be up soon but I cannot say when since I'm not even done with it yet. So, please bear with my slowness. XD Hopefully all of you are entertained by Shun's cuteness and also Tezuka's possessiveness plus with his protectiveness. There will be some more in the next part. Here is something for you all to look forward too. The next part will be the meeting of the Echizens and Tezukas. That's all, ja!
-Yuujirou-
